


Seven Devils; Book One

by quentincoldwater



Series: Seven Devils [1]
Category: Harry Potter - Fandom
Genre: Abusive Dursleys, Creature Fic, F/M, Ginny Weasley Bashing, Hermione Granger Bashing, I realized Harry is a little ooc but not really bc he still does dumb reckless stuff w/o thinking, M/M, Molly Weasley Bashing, Punk Harry, Ron Weasley Bashing, Runaway Harry, Street rat harry, Weasley Bashing, possible mates fic, possible mentions of mpreg, possibly dark harry I don't know yet, red haired Harry Potter, references to The Magicians, trigger warnings will be noted in author notes, will update with other tags
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-09-08
Updated: 2019-03-23
Packaged: 2019-07-08 08:26:36
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 9,249
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15926621
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/quentincoldwater/pseuds/quentincoldwater
Summary: It didn't matter what Albus Dumbledore's letter had said, nor what her sister had wanted, the Dursleys refused to keep a freak in their house. When the freak turned six, Vernon was ready to take measures to insure the boy wouldn't be a bother anymore. But before it could happen, the freak ran away.This is the story of the Boy who lived and his life on the streets. It's a story of survival and how the world is beyond cruel.This is just the beginning.





	1. A boy named Freak

**Author's Note:**

> Please note this story is unbeta'd and has influences from other fan fic/shows.

** November 1st, 1981 **

Mr. and Mrs. Dursley, of number four, Privet Drive, were proud to say that they were perfectly normal, thank you very much.  Both Dursleys' were always adamant that their family was the best on the street. Everything about their house screamed normal, from the perfect rose bushes, to the pristine lawn, not a thing out of place. Each day, Vernon Dursley woke up to the smell of bacon and eggs, while Petunia Dursley fussed about worrying that her ickle Duddykins wasn't getting enough to eat. No one on their street bothered the family, even if one of the someone had gotten the Dursley's mail by accident, which happened quite often.

So on the dreary morning of November first, when Vernon Dursley opened the door to number four, brief case in hand, ready for work, none of the neighbors quite expected to hear a terrible shout, followed by  the sound of glass shattering and a woman's high pitched scream.  A few of the neighbors poked their heads out of the front door, the scream from, Petunia Dursley, drawing curious looks. But the hurried whispers and purpling of Vernon's face, caused them all to draw their curtains and pay them no attention.

It took Petunia several minutes to collect herself, before she even attempted to calm her husband down. She could hear her son crying in the kitchen, her need to go and comfort him strong, but the thing that sat on their front door step was more urgent. The neighbors' had either already seen the...rather unpleasant thing or they were still very much unaware. For now, Petunia rather the latter, she didn't want her neighbors to think anything less of them. So, with shaky hands, Petunia picked the bundle up, carrying it into the house, Vernon following behind her, slamming the door closed. "Tunie we should just drop the thing off at a fire station. They still do that sort of thing right?" He snapped as he dropped his brief case next to the front door, his shoes soon following. "I don't want..." He snapped his mouth close as he pointed a thick finger at the bundle in his wife's arms.

Petunia glanced down that the bundle, a slight sneer on her face, as she carried it into the kitchen, setting the sleeping form of a baby to rest on the kitchen counter. She carefully picked the envelope that the red haired child had slobbered on, up. Her eyes narrowed at the drool covered envelope, the swirling green letters, she'd only seen a few times in her life. Her eyes widened for all of a second, before they turned to the bundle on the counter. This child clearly was like her sister and that idiot husband of hers. One of the…the freaks must have been desperate, must of thought because they had Dudley, they would take the child in. Petunia snorted as she opened the letter and read it.  

"We can't take him anywhere Vernon." She replied, her tone icy as she handed the letter to her husband. "We need to keep him until he's seventeen." She moved to her now fussing Duddykins, picking him up, letting him hit her arm. "He's our nephew, most likely a freak like my sister..." She glared at the sleeping bundle, eyes narrowed.  "As much as I don't want him here,” She waved her free hand at the letter before huffing, at the strangled noise her husband made, Petunia glanced over at him. "Vernon, you know how they were, how they just..." Her voice cut off as she turned to look out the kitchen window before turning to look back at him. "Did whatever they wanted, how horrible they were to us because we weren't like them." It had come out as a shaky whisper. She kissed her son's head softly before letting out another weary sigh. "Vernon, we don't have to provide him the best, we don't even have to be nice to the child. We just have to give him shelter and make sure he gets enough to eat. Our main focus will always be Dudley."  At the sound of his name, the chubby toddler cooed and tugged on his mother's hair, causing the woman to smile and start to sweet talk her son. 

Vernon was listening to his wife's words as he glared at the bundle on their kitchen counter. "You're right Pet, we don't have to provide him the best, we don't even have to give him a proper room." Vernon nodded a little to himself as he turned from the kitchen, crumpling the letter still in his hand. He moved to the front hall and pulled the door to the cupboard under the stairs open and started to empty it. "The freak will sleep under here, he'll get a cot, no...no, he'll get a mattress and that blanket he has now." Vernon shouted to his wife still in the kitchen as he started to clear out the cupboard. "Oh we'll make sure the babe is fed and clean. We'll make sure he's safe..." Vernon continued to ramble on about what he and Petunia could do to ensure they stayed well within the bare minimum requirements. Petunia simply nodded, as she side stepped anything that was being thrown out of the cupboard, a little concerned for her husband’s sanity.

Once the cupboard had enough room, Vernon made his way back to kitchen, grabbing the sleeping child from the counter, "We only need to feed him when necessary Pet and to change him when he absolutely needs to as well." He nodded as he moved back to the cupboard and placed the baby in it, closing and locking the door.  "I'll buy a mattress on my way home from work tonight, but I'm already late." He kissed his wife's cheek before moving to grab his suit case and put his shoes back on. Petunia watched him carefully before glancing at the door. "The glass Vernon?" She watched as her husband looked at her confused.  "The glass that I dropped and now is covering the baby Vernon?" She continued as she not only pointed at the mess on their front door step, but then back at the cupboard door, her brow raised expectantly. Vernon waved a hand as he pulled out his keys. "Do as you please Petunia, I don't have time for this."

Petunia sighed as Dudley reminded her that she was still holding him. She closed the door to number four, before setting a very restless Dudley down. Once her son had taken off, Petunia opened the door to the cupboard and scooped the other baby up. Bright eyes  blinked up at her as tiny chubby hands reached out through the star speckled mint coloured baby blanket. Petunia bit her lip as she carried the baby towards the kitchen, her nose scrunched as she listened to the child babbled nonsense, reaching for her hair, his legs kicking adamantly.  "You know, I never wanted another child. One was enough for me and Vernon. I don’t know why I’m talking to you like you actually understand me.”

Petunia sat her nephew back down on the kitchen counter, letting his blanket fall around him, most of the glass falling with it. She sighed as she started to clean up the glass, picking it out of the child’s hair and off his face. “My sister, your mother, was awful to me after she got her school letter.” She watched the child, amazed at how quiet he’d become, those emerald eyes staring at her. As if he understood what she was saying, she snorted at the thought.  _As if a baby could understand me_. She shook her head a little as she continued to clean the glass up. “She was always showing off. Mother and father always favored her, thought she was the perfect daughter. They didn’t see just how awful she really was.” She gave the red haired child a glare as he giggled, his foot moving to his hand then into his mouth.

“You look so much like her and I hate it…” Petunia gathered the pieces of glass, throwing them in the bin before turning to look at the child. “Why would those horrible people even name you such a terrible name? What kind of name is Harry anyway? Where they trying to do it in honour of our father? If it was, well they did it all wrong,” She tutted before picking Harry up, holding him away from her body. Harry squealed as he held out his hands, attempting to reach for her. “Oony…oony!” He squealed as Petunia moved back to the cupboard, she sat him back in it before closing the door.

Harry sat, staring at the door, hands still out, grabbing at empty air. His lower lip quivered a little as the tears started to fall down his face, but no sound came out. “ ‘Oony? Ad ‘oot?” Was all that could be heard for hours after, whenever Petunia passed the cupboard.

When Vernon returned home, Petunia took the twin mattress to the cupboard with a bowl of mashed bananas and rice pudding. She quickly changed Harry before setting him on the new mattress, handing him the bowl of food.  It was the first minimal meal of many and little Harry seemed to know this as he barely touched it, seemingly savoring it.

HP~~HP~~HP

** April 10th, 1987 (six years later) **

“Freak!” The voice echoed through Number Four Private Drive, as a rather small red headed boy stumbled from the upstairs bathroom, dirt covering his face, arms and knees. “Freak! You have five seconds to get down here and start dinner or it will be a week in the garden shed.” The boy named Freak, scrambled down the stairs and skidded into the kitchen, nearly falling over his own feet. He didn’t look at the tall skinny woman, who he knew was his aunt, instead he made his way over to the oven, pulling out a stool, quickly he climbed it, and set the oven to preheat.

Once the oven was set, Freak set to gathering ingredients for the dinner his aunt wanted made. He glanced at the menu she had made for him. Ever since Freak had learned to cook and somewhat read, at the age of five, his aunt had started making ‘menus’ for him. And it wasn’t like he didn’t know his name, Freak knew, very well that his name, was in fact, not Freak, but Harry. He’d known for as long as he could remember, but his family insisted on calling him Freak or Boy, so why try to correct them. He’d learned when he turned four and tried asking a question, that questions and trying to do anything than other what was asked of him was not right.

So Harry responded to the name Freak and kept quiet, to himself and did as he was told. And tonight, it seemed his aunt wanted him to make baked chicken with a peanut sauce and sautéed onions and mushrooms. Freak hummed as he slowly cut the onions, careful not to cut himself. He’d cut himself enough through learning, thank you very much.  Once the onions were cut perfectly, Freak set them in a bowl, knowing full well his aunt was watching him. He turned and started to prepare the chicken when he heard his aunt clear her throat. It was a rare thing for her to actually speak to her nephew.

“This dinner needs to be perfect.”   _As if it isn’t always perfect?_ He thought as she continued to speak at him. “Your uncle and I are having guests over tonight…for dinner.”  _Really? No I thought you were going to just kick them out before dinner._ He continued to think as his hands moved slowly but steadily as his aunt continued to talk about dinner plans.  _Or maybe you’d have them eat the food, and then you eat your guests? Who knows, you and your fat arse husband may be the real freaks._ Freak rolled his eyes a little as he turned away from his aunt to wash the now cut onions and mushrooms. He shook his head a little as he shifted the bowl of vegetables towards the stove before climbing off the stool he’d been standing on.

The one thing he hated about cooking, was he was still too short to reach things. He knew it was because he was six, but he was still much smaller than most boys his age. As he moved towards the stove, he placed the now prepped chicken in the oven. “Boy are you listening to me at all?”

Freak turned to look at his aunt and nodded once before turning to look back at what he was doing. If there was one way he knew how to annoy his aunt and uncle, it was to ignore them. He hardly ever spoke in their presence, it wasn’t that he didn’t know how to speak. He just chose not to. It was much easier, their anger wasn’t worth it. So Freak kept quiet, doing as he was told, moving around the Dursley home like a red haired, speckled eyed ghost.

Once the timer was set for the chicken, Freak started to grab the frying pan, making sure the stove was hot enough before he started cooking the onions and mushrooms.  He continued to listen to Petunia’s ranting until she finally left him to his work. The sizzling of the vegetables was a nice change until she returned and hurried him out of the kitchen, complaining that the important guests would be arriving soon. He knew that meant he would have to hurry to finish the rest of his cleaning, clean himself up and then disappear to his cupboard. Freak hurried along as he finished up the bathroom he had been half way done with when she’d called for him.

As soon as he was finished cleaning the house, Freak cleaned himself off with the garden hose, dried his messy hair and feet before hanging the few pieces of clothes he had, in the garden shed. He knew if he didn’t hang them there, then Dudley would find them and throw them in the mud or Petunia would screech about someone finding out he even dare to exist, so he hid them while they dried. Back in his cupboard, Harry  put on, what he could only call clean, clothes and grabbed the only blanket he ever had. He quickly wrapped it around his tiny shoulders before he lifted his mattress and started to search under it.

After a quick search, Harry pulled out a rather worn out copy of “James and the Giant Peach” He inhaled deeply, imaging he could just smell the peaches and the ocean that James would find himself on at some point in the story. Exhaling, Harry slowly opened the book, smiling wistfully at the many worn and dirty pages, some of them nearly falling out. He held the book close so he could read it. His eyes zooming across the pages as he ignored the noises of the guests arriving. He was so lost in his book he didn’t hear the laughter or the cries for help that came from beyond his door. Harry had jumped at the sound of screaming and the sirens when he had finished his book. Ever so slowly he made his way to the slats on the door and watched the scene playing out in the living room.

“I…I .. I didn’t know…Vernon I didn’t know.” Petunia looked harried and tears were running down her face as she clutched to her whale of a husband. Vernon’s face was a bright shade of purple as his eyes went from the food to someone Harry couldn’t see, then to the cupboard door. Harry backed up a little, his eyes still wondering over the scene.

“It’s okay Pet, you did just fine. No one is blaming you, I don’t think Mrs. Ward knew she was allergic to anything she was eating.” He continued to attempt to console his wife as his eyes darted around the scene. Harry watched as men in dark blue uniforms entered the house with a stretcher. There was mumbling and then the men were leaving with a rather busty blonde on a stretcher. Her lips, eyes and throat all looked rather swollen. Harry pushed away from the door and started breathing heavily. Vernon and Petunia were going to blame him for this, anything that ever went wrong, they blamed on him. Harry moved quickly, shoving his book back under the mattress before curling himself into a tight ball, pulling his tattered baby blanket over his head.

He didn’t know how long he lay like that, but when the door to his cupboard opened, Freak flinched and curled in further on himself.  An enormous hand curled around his exposed ankle, pulling Freak out of his cupboard, the place he thought himself safest. Freak tried his best to pull away, squeaking and kicking out his leg, but Vernon had a tight hold on him. “No you don’t boy. You’re not going anywhere. You did this, you ruined our perfect evening, now you’re going to be punished for it.” Freak turned wide eyes on his uncle, black and green swirling in fear.

“Bu…s..sir I didn’t do anything. I made everything as was asked. I followed the menu.” Freak stuttered out as he moved to curl back into himself in an attempt to protect himself.  

“Don’t lie to me boy. I know you did this, somehow you managed to ruin this perfect evening.” Vernon sneered as he raised a hand to hit the small boy. Just as he was about to land the blow, he stopped, the sound of Petunia clearing her throat, causing Vernon to look at her, still angry. “What Pet?”

“Well dear, I was just thinking…” She shrugged a little as she moved to cross her arms, a sort of smile forming on her face. “Instead of hitting the boy, why don’t we just…lock him away for several weeks, only give him water three times a day. After all it’s worked before, when he was still juts a toddler.”

Vernon looked at his wife curiously before nodding. “Right, then, in you go boy, nothing but water for three weeks.” He started to kick Freak back towards the cupboard, but before he could even get the boy to move further than to feet, Freak was up, his blanket clutched in his hand. His hands curled into fists as he looked between his aunt and uncle and then the door.  Before any of them could comprehend what was happening, Freak was running towards and out the front door.

“Well are you going to go after him Vernon?”

“Why would I? We never even wanted the freak in the first place.”


	2. Pinky Promise

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harry's been living on the streets for nearly five years. He's found people that sometimes like to give him a warm bed to sleep in, sometimes they make him steal things and run errands for him, errands that take him to homes of certain surly, cranky wizards. And sometimes these people like to teach him about the wizarding world.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Holy shit this one was a lot longer than I thought it would be. But here it is! Finally after half a year, here is chapter two. Thank you for continuing to support me and understand that life happens! 
> 
>  
> 
> -Q

**July 30 th 1991**

The sound of bare feet against cement and giggles echoed all across the court yard of the Kingston Estate. Children were running around bare footed kicking a ball between them, dirt smeared on their faces and clothes. It was clear that they’d been playing hard for some time, in another section of the court yard, a  few  teens were huddled together, whispering and glancing over their shoulder every so often, as if expecting someone to catch them doing something they clearly shouldn’t of been doing.  A few feet away from the teens, was a young boy, to old to be playing with the children, yet to young to be apart of the teens. His bright red hair was sticking up in all directions, his nose, a yellowish green colour, had a bandage over it, and a tooth missing. His bright green eyes were ringed black, his face smeared with dirt and what looked like blood.  When adults passed him, they didn’t bother to even glance at him.  For the young boy, it gave him an advantage, it was easy for him to steal their wallets or something expensive off them.

Today, it meant that he was able to listen into what was happening around the estate, find out what apartments might be empty, who just got paid, ect. He sniffled and rubbed gently at his runny nose, before scooting closer to the group of teenagers and wriggling his way into the middle of the group. The boy barely reached the shoulders’ of the teens, some even called him a liar when he told them he was getting ready to turn 11, on a good day he looked to be but 7 at best.

As the teens noticed the bright red hair and doll like eyes, the conversation came to a halt. The teens all looked down at the red haired boy and smiled as if the sun had decided to come out. “Harry mate!” One of the teens whisper shouted as her hand attempted to fix the boy’s hair. “You’re late.” It came out more of a teasing statement then anything. The girl didn’t look mad one bit.  Harry smiled brightly at her as he batted her hand away with his bandaged one. 

“ ‘M late cause the fuckin’ pigs wanted ta follow me fer a bit.” He scowled a little, his nose scrunching up. The girl laughed as she ruffled his hair. “Harry you’re too cute to be swearing.” She shook her head as she crossed her arms. “Well did you get anything good?”

“Did I get anything good?” Harry repeated his nose still scrunched. “Of fuckin’ course I did.” He started to empty his pockets into the teens hands. He handed them  several wallets, watches and about 3 diamond rings. “No’ a single adul’ looked a’ me.” As he said this, Harry’s chest puffed with pride. “Can I sleep…can I sleep in a bed tonight?” The question came out in a rushed whisper, hope filling his eyes.

The girl that had greeted Harry looked at her companions before looking back at Harry. “We need you to do one more thing today Harry.” Harry bit his lip as he stared at his bare feet.  “Don’t worry it’s not like the other things. We just need you to pick something special up for us Harry.”  He looked up at the girl, his eyes full of doubt.

“Promise?” He mumbled as he held out his pinky. The girl grabbed his pinky with hers as she smiled. “Pinky promise Harry. We just need you to go to this address and tell them you’re picking up for Alice.” The girl handed Harry a piece of paper with what was clearly an address. Harry took the paper and held it closely to his face, still squinting as he struggled to read the address. “O..okay, bu’ if I don’ get ta sleep in a bed tonigh’ I’m moving on.”

“Yah, yah yah, Harry you said that last week.” A tall boy with black hair waved his hand as he shoved the other one into his pocket, storing the items in his hand, there.  “Now go one, get a move on.”

Harry scowled before shoving the paper into his own worn and torn pants. “Fuck off Eliot.” He flipped the taller boy off before pushing his way out of the huddle. He had the address memorized and was about to walk away before he stopped. “Am…do I need to take ‘nything ta protect myself?” He asked his back still to the teens.  There was a quiet murmuring before one of them spoke up. “If you think you need it.”  Harry turned to glare at the group. “Fuckin wankers”  He flipped the group off before turning, heading to a more deserted part of the estate. 

He waited until a group of children were done playing hide and seek before entering one of the older buildings. Half the apartments in the buildings were abandoned, the rest were mostly occupied by the elderly or teenagers. Harry let out a sigh as he slipped through a broken window of an abandoned apartment, wiping at the dust that fell on his face. He glanced around, happy to see that no one had entered the place since he’d last been there.  Knowing exactly what he needed and where it was, Harry made his way to the bedroom closet, pulled up a loose floorboard and pulled out a small butterfly knife. He shoved the knife into his pocket before grabbing a packet of cigarettes and a lighter. He threw on an over sized jacket that was lying on an abandoned ruined mattress, before pocketing the cigarettes  and lighter. He glanced down at the hole in the floor, he had created when he had first found this place two years ago. His baby blanket sat in a small wooden box, along with a few knives and books he’d collected over the years. The one that looked most read was a copy of James and the Giant Peach.

When he had first left the people who had raised him, Harry had always hoped he would be swept away by a giant peach or something just as magical. He would have dreams of a giant flying motorcycle, a friendly werewolf and giant shaggy black dog, chasing him around an unfamiliar living room. But those were only dreams, eventually Harry knew better and put those hopes to rest. He eyed the baseball bat that rested against the closet door and sighed. He wasn’t really sure if he needed it. He had his knife, a knife he’d been given on his ninth birthday. He turned from the room as he rubbed his runny noise once more.

The sun had already set as Harry made his way off the estate and into the heart of London. He let his mind wander as his eyes shifted from building to building. He pulled the paper out and read the address once more, his nose scrunching as he glanced at the tall buildings around him.  He muttered a few choice words before making his way towards the opposite side of London.

By the time he was at his destination, he was yawning, rubbing at his eyes. He glanced up at the address on the building before looking around, realizing he wasn’t exactly in London anymore. The area was a little more rundown but hardly anyone was around. He spotted a few owls circling what he assumed was prey and a black shaggy dog. He frowned a little at the dog, before making his way up to the door. Hesitating for a few seconds, Harry lifted a hand to knock, when the door opened on its own. In front of him stood a tall man, with cheek bones that could probably cut glass. His long blond hair pulled back, crystal blue eyes glaring down at Harry. “Whatever it is you’re selling, we don’t want it.” His voice made Harry think this man was raised with a silver spoon in his mouth. He gulped once more, before clearing his throat, wanting to speak as clearly as possible. “ ‘M not selling ‘nything sir. I was sent tah pick up a package..” He shifted a little under the scrutinizing gaze the man was giving him. “ ‘M tah tell yah the package is fer Alice.” He cleared his throat once more before standing up as straight as possible. The blond haired man looked him over before stepping aside. “Come in and don’t touch anything.”

 

Harry nodded quickly as he stepped into the building, well house really. He quickly stepped to the side as the door shut behind, his hands going to the pockets of his jacket. The man sniffed in distaste as he made his way around Harry. “I’ll be just a moment.” He eyed Harry once more, before speaking again. “I’ll know if you touch or take anything.” He then left the room.

 

As soon as the man was gone, Harry started to walk around the room. It was a simple sitting room and yet it wasn’t. There was a lounge and two chairs, a coffee table, with what looked like, a recently used tea set. What really stood out to Harry were the walls that were lined with bookshelves. The books themselves didn’t much interest Harry, it was what else was on the shelves. There were glass cases filled with petrified objects, objects Harry couldn’t identify, weapons of all sorts, something that, if Harry squinted hard enough, looked like a wand. A wand from a child’s book he once read when he hid away in a library. He chuckled at his imagination, why would anyone have something like that in their home. He shook his head before turning to look at a few of the books. His nose scrunched at the titles. “Fillory and Beyond”, “The life cycle of a nymph”, “10,000 Uses of Unicorn Hair and Horn”, and “Magical Herbs and Fungi; And where to find them”.  It was clear all these books were jokes or these people were absolutely mental. Harry turned at the sound of footsteps, his eyes narrowing to see if the blond man had returned.

It wasn’t the blond at all though, the person who entered gave Harry a sense of de ja vu. He blinked a few times as he squinted at the man. He was tall, not as tall as the blond, that much Harry could tell. He could see that the man had black hair and what looked to be a crooked nose. But other than that, Harry couldn’t see much else, the man was too far away.  And from what Harry could see and tell, the man hadn’t even realized Harry was there. It made him a little uncomfortable, as if Harry himself had walked in on something important. He turned back to the bookshelf, hoping to make himself invisible, like he did when he was trying to steal something.

“Lu will be back with Alice’s package in a minute. It seems he’s misplaced it again. Not like it hasn’t happened before.” The man’s voice was deeper richer than the blond’s, Lu’s. Harry only nodded in response as he stared hard at the shelf in front of him. “I suppose you’re Alice’s new errand boy? You’re what six, seven? I’m guessing eight at best”

Harry’s face heated up, he was turning eleven in a few hours, he hated when the older kids teased him about his height. It was his aunt and uncle’s fault, at least it's what he assumed. If he hadn’t of…he shook his head and let out the breath he had been holding. “I’m ten, gunna  be eleven,” Harry glanced at the little bit of the room he could see, hoping to see a clock, “in a few hours.”

“So midnight huh?” The sound of the man’s voice was closer now as Harry shrugged. “Do you even know what you’re picking up for Alice.” Harry shook his head as he inched away from the direction of the voice.  The man chuckled, causing Harry to frown. “If it means a warm bed, then I dun’ ask questions. Only idiots and babies ask questions.” He crossed his arms before turning to look at the man, who was now cleaning up the tea set.

“I see, well I hope Alice doesn’t lie to you and gives you a bed tonight.” The man, from what Harry could tell, gave him a look before disappearing back the way he came. Harry frowned, his fist clenching. “She pinky promised!” He shouted after the man. “She better fuckin’ give me one.” He muttered as he moved back to the door. Sometime later Lu came back into the room and approached Harry, holding two packages. “The top one is for you.” He eyed Harry carefully before pointing to the bottom, larger one. “That one is for Alice. Make sure it gets to her right away and don’t tell her I gave you anything. She’s, well I’m sure you know what she’s like.”

Harry looked at the top package before squinting up at the man. “I dun’ understand. You dun’ know me n I dun’ know you.” Harry eyed the package once more before shifting on his feet. “Why would you do tha’ fer a complete stranger?”

Lu looked at Harry and sighed. “My…” He hesitated for a moment before continuing, “partner, informed me it was your birthday tomorrow. I assume you have no family or friends to celebrate it with?” It wasn’t exactly a question or a statement. But Lu waited for Harry to confirm his suspicions. So Harry, looking at the smaller package nodded a little, a small frown on his face. “Then take it and don’t question it. I’m sure we’ll see you again.” He gave Harry a look before patting him on the head. “Now off you go, it’s late and I’m sure you’ll want to sleep soon.”

Harry nodded, tucking the packages under his arm. He hesitated at the door before turning to look at Lu, a sort of smile on his face. “Thank you…fer the present.” If he was honest, despite not know Lu or his partner, Harry was excited to receive his first ever present. He left Lu’s home and made his way, slowly but surely back to the Kingston estate. By the time he arrived, his feet were dragging and his eyes were drooping. 

He stood in front of Alice’s door, hand poised to knock when he remembered the package on top. He tucked it in his jacket pocket before knocking on the door. As he waited, Harry rubbed at his eyes, hoping that Alice would keep her promise. He wasn’t sure how long he had been there, but he was certain he’d dozed off at least once. His whole body was slumped against the door frame when the door finally opened.  “It took you long enough! I needed that hours ago, it’s already two am.” Alice huffed as she snatched the package out of Harry’s hand and made to close the door. “Alice…” The girl turned to look at Harry, brows raised.  “What?” Harry shuffled on his feet, hands rubbing at his eyes. “Ya promised I coul’ sleep in a bed tonight, if I made tha’ run..” He looked up at her wide eyed, hoping she’d let him in.

“I did, but you didn’t get the package to me on time.” She closed the door, the sound of the lock ringing in Harry’s head. His eyes filled with tears as he stood in front of the closed door. Harry stared at the door for several minutes or maybe it was an hour, before he turned and made his way down to the courtyard. He pulled his jacket off and started to fold it, when he felt the package in the pocket. He pulled it out and stared at it.  Slowly he pulled the tape off and opened the box. Inside was a green and silver blanket, with dragons and moons embroidered into it. Harry ran his hand along the blanket and nearly started to cry. It must’ve been one of the softest blankets he had ever touched. He slowly pulled it from the box and held it to his chest, letting the box drop to the ground. Harry wasn’t sure if he ever wanted to use the blanket, but he knew that he had to, because it would get cold and that he was already sick with a summer cold.

Carefully Harry picked the box up, wanting to keep it to store, not only the blanket it, but also other things in, and moved to a nearby bench. He finished folding his jacket up and set it down. He then curled up on the bench, covering himself up with the blanket. He closed his eyes as he pulled the blanket over his head, not ready for what the next day would bring him.

**July 31 st 1992**

It’d been a year since the letters had started coming and for a while they had stopped and Harry had hoped they had just been some sort of joke. That a school couldn’t be named Hogwarts and that magic couldn’t really be real. But as the letters kept coming, Harry continued to think about it, he thought about all the times he’d been able to avoid the police, about all the times weird things had happened to him and the house he had to visit for Alice. The titles on the bookshelves, eventually over the year, Harry started to believe that maybe he truly did have magic, that there was a school named Hogwarts. A really stupid name to call a school, but if it was the only school that could teach Harry magic, well he considered going. That thought only lasted a few days before Alice had been with Harry when he was delivered one of the letters.

_“You’re not actually going to that joke of a school are you?” She had snatched the letter from the owl before Harry even had the chance to.  It had been addressed as_

_Mr. H Potter_  
The abandoned apartment  
Kingston Estate  
London  
 England

_Alice had stared at the letter for several minutes before looking at Harry curiously. “You never told me your last name was Potter.” She had said it as if Harry had been purposely hiding it from her. He frowned as he grabbed for the envelope. “I didn’ know ‘til last year.” He frowned at her accusatory tone as he turned the letter over in his hand, rolling his eyes a little. “I barely even knew my own name until I was six.” Harry stared at the letter before shoving it into his pocket. “Why you ask?”_

_Alice continued to stare at him, her eyes glancing up at his covered forehead. “No reason, it’s just..” She stopped mid-sentence, eyes narrowed, arms crossed. “Just that in the wizarding world, there’s this really famous couple with the same last name. But clearly there’s no relation, you look nothing like them and it’s said that their only child was put into the care of his rich relatives.” She snorted a little. “Clearly that’s not the case for you.”_

_Harry rolled his eyes as he pulled on his beanie a little, trying to hide the lighting scar on his forehead. His aunt and uncle had called it a hideous deformation. He’d always been self-conscious about it. “Yah clearly.” He muttered before looking up wide eyed at the older girl. “ ‘ey wait, if ya know ‘bout Hogwarts n magic, why ain’t ya going there?”_

_Alice chuckled a little as she tossed her pink hair over her shoulder. “Because that place is a load of fucking bullshit. I went for two years and quit. My mum and dad went to a different magical school and when they found out what I was learning in my first two years, they threw a right fit. Mum tried to tell the school board how stupid they were for teaching us such low level magic. But the headmaster won, so I quit. Mum said I should go to her school, dad said I should go to his. It was a non-stop battle. I ended up being home schooled for a while. Learned loads more than I did in the first two years there.” Alice looked around to make sure no one was listening. “Honestly that place is a joke, they teach nothing but defensive magic. I left home when I turned sixteen to learn more on my own.” She shrugged a little as if it was no big deal. “Everyone I hang out with knows about magic, some are witches and wizards, others are what we call muggles, that are just fascinated with the subject.”_

_Alice let out a deep sigh as she looked down at Harry. “Just promise me you won’t even consider going to that school Harry. If you really want to learn magic, I can teach you and I’m sure the more you run errands for me, Lu and his husband can too.” She shrugged as she moved past him. “If you want the letters to stop, just reply with a simple no thank you or tell them you’re going somewhere else, better yet, tell them you’re being home schooled.”  Harry blinked at Alice as she walked away, he hadn’t even considered doing such a thing._

That had been two weeks ago and now Alice was teaching Harry magic and sure she wasn’t the best teacher, she was impatient and rude. She yelled at Harry when he got things wrong or couldn’t perfect a spell on the first try. But Harry put up with it, because once he got a spell right, he felt proud of himself and energized. When he wasn’t running errands for Alice or trying to steal things from unsuspecting muggles, Harry was practicing as much as he could. He was getting better every day, but some spells he just couldn’t get right and that frustrated him.

But today, Harry was excited because Alice had promised to take him to the place where wizards went shopping. She had told him that she needed to buy somethings that couldn’t be delivered or stolen from muggles. She had decided since Harry was turning twelve that it would be ideal to take him with her, considering he might have to start going to this place for her. The thought that he was going to see part of the magical world excited him.

As he stood at the edge of the estate, he bounced on his heels excitedly, wanting nothing more for Alice to appear. He hadn’t gotten a good nights sleep, having to sleep on a bench again, Alice and her friends refusing to let him sleep on their couches. The only good thing was that Harry now knew how to make the benches soft, thanks to Alice and he still had the blanket from Lu. He assumed it was magically enchanted because, over past year, it hadn’t become worn down. 

Harry nearly squealed when he spotted Alice’s pink hair, his smile faltering only a little when he realized that she wasn’t alone. It seemed that Eliot would be joining them, Harry shoved his fists into his pocket, not wanting the other to ruin his good mood. He gave them both the side eye as they approached him. “So Harry we’re obviously going shopping, but we need to get some money first. Muggle money ain’t gonna cut it where we’re going.” She grinned at Harry as she moved passed him.

Harry eyed her a curiously as he followed the two teenagers into London. He listened as the two of them chatted about things Harry didn’t quite understand, but he listened in to as much as he could, he wanted to know more about the wizarding world. His eyes wondered from building to building, not exactly familiar with the part of London they were headed to. He followed Alice down street after street before nearly bumping into Eliot when the two of them stopped. He blinked a few before poking his head around the teen, squinting to see why they’d stopped. “Well?” He looked from Eliot to Alice then back to the buildings in front of them. 

“It’s that one there Harry.” Alice pointed to what was seemingly an abandoned building between a bookshop and what looked like some kind of clothing store. Harry watched as people passed by the building, not even giving it glance “Muggles don’t even notice it because of charms and enchantments that are extremely strong. I’ve been trying to figure out what they are, but,” Alice sighed as she pulled out a coloured piece of glass and held it up to her eye. “Their way to strong for me to decipher.” She handed the piece of glass to Eliot before looking down at Harry. “Eliot and I have been wanting to create a safe house for those of us who learn magic outside of the traditional ways.” When she heard the huff of annoyance from Eliot, she held out her hand for the glass back, tucking it into her pocket. Harry frowned as he watched the glass disappear, he wanted to know what they'd seen through the glass. “You know, the olde ways, with ruins and no wands. More incantations and hand movements, everything I’ve basically been teaching you. It’s a little more work, but much better than all that wishy washy stuff Hogwarts teaches.”

Alice waved her hand before glancing both ways down the street, then crossing. Harry followed quickly, his eyes glancing at the sign hanging above the door the three of them had approached. “The... Leaky Cauldron?”  He looked at Eliot and Alice as they entered the building. “Yup! It’s quite a fitting name for the place. The inside’s pretty cozy but old, and the customers vary from rich folk to rather…interesting. C’mon, stop staring and get in here.”  She tugged on Harry’s hand and pulled him into the pub.

Harry stared at the people sitting at the many tables scattered around the room. His eyes wondered to the stairs, then to the bar, where a bald elderly man stood. He watched as a few people waved, what he assumed were their wands, making dishes float to tables, others huddled together whispering over a newspaper with moving pictures.  He let Alice drag him to a door in the back that led to a empty court yard.  He watched as Alice tapped a pattern into the bricks with her finger, his mouth falling open when the bricks started to move. It definitely wasn’t his first time seeing magic and it wasn’t the bricks moving that shocked him. It was the buildings and people behind them.

“Welcome to Diagon Alley Harry. One of the many places where witches and wizards alike come to shop.” Alice nudged Harry into the alley as she and Eliot made their way through the arch. Harry’s gaze moved from building to building, squinting as he attempted to read the signs and see what each store was selling.

“We’re going to that big one at the end of the alley. It’s the bank, where everyone goes to store their money. It’s run by goblins, you remember what I taught you about goblins yah?”

Harry nodded as his gaze turned to the giant white building at the end of the alley. He gulped as they moved closer to the building. “Also I should tell you, don’t try to steal anything from here. We’re here to sell what we’ve got and to open you an account. We should get a decent amount from what we’ve brought.” Alice shrugged as she started up the steps of the bank. She looked back at Eliot a brow raised. “You really not coming?” 

“Nah, the goblins hate me and my family and you know that.” He waved a hand at her as he pulled a cigarette out of his pocket, snapped his fingers, lighting it, before taking a drag as he leaned against the lion statue by the stairs. Harry looked at him curiously before following Alice up the steps, his eyes moving from Eliot to the goblin that stood at the front doors. He tilted his head curiously, having only ever seen a goblin in pictures. The goblin sneered at Harry, causing Harry to blush and tug on his sleeves, embarrassed by his tattered shirt and baggy jeans. He followed Alice into the bank, eyes widening at the sight of many more goblins, the high vaulted ceilings and the ornate floors. He’d never seen anything like it before. He caught up with Alice, tugging on her sleeve. “I…are ya sure ‘m allowed in here?”

Alice looked down at him and rolled her eyes. “Of course you are Harry, if it makes you feel better, I looked just like you when I opened my own account. The goblins don’t care what you look like.” Alice approached an available goblin and cleared her throat. “Excuse me, but I’ve come to sell some things and open an account.”

The goblin looked up from its’ paper work and gave Alice a toothy grin. “What is it you’ve brought to sell.” Alice pulled a box out of her jacket pocket and handed it to the goblin. “Expandable charm on it sir. There’s a decent amount of artifacts in there.” She nodded a little as she stepped back. Both Alice and Harry watched as the goblin searched through the box, his smile widening. “I’m going to take this back to our appraiser, just wait here.”

Alice nodded, allowing the goblin to disappear from view. Once the goblin was gone, Alice turned to face the center of the hall, her body leaning against the counter, her eyes wondering over the people milling about. Harry turned to follow her gaze, eyes squinted.  “I think, that maybe we’ll get you some glasses today Harry, I never realized just how blind you were until I started teaching you.” She glanced down at the squinting boy and sighed, shaking her head.  Harry frowned up at her as he crossed his arms. “I’m not _that_ blind” He mumbled before letting his eyes move back to the crowd as he heard Alice chuckle.  Her chuckle turned into a groan.

What looked to be a gang of red headed boys had just entered the bank, a short, rosy cheeked woman, with wind swept hair, was in the front, her hand smacking the head of one of the older boys. As the loud group got closer, Harry’s eyes widened, their hair was almost exactly the same colour as his. He tugged at his bangs as he glanced at Alice, who was clearly unhappy to be seeing the family. “That’s probably one of the poorest families in the England wizarding world.” Her tone was cold as she watched the mother smack the back of another boy’s head. “They wouldn’t be had their father not turned his back on his family and their mother been disowned by hers.” Alice glanced down at Harry, a small smile gracing her nearly perfect features. Harry gave a hesitant smile back. “Don’t worry Harry, I don’t think you’re related to them at all. I think I’d know if you were.” She patted Harry’s head as her eyes moved back to the family.

At that point the family had reached a goblin teller. “Yes, I’d like to make a withdraw from the Potter and Weasley vaults.” The woman had made sure to raise her voice, to gain the attention of as many people as possible. Harry watched the group curiously, brows raised. “Alice, ain’t that the name of those errr... those famous people?” He glanced at his friend who was clearly scowling. He looked back at the family only to see a few of them had moved out of the way to clear a path for a boy that looked like he’d been raised by loving and caring parents. But it was clear to Harry, that this boy had been spoiled.

Harry watched the boy for a few more minutes before turning to look at the others. The four oldest looked as if they were bored and would rather be anywhere else. The youngest looked as if he were hanging on to every word of the Potter boy. Before either Harry or Alice could say anything else, there was a noise behind them and the goblin returned with a bag in his hand. “Our appraiser has looked your items over and has decided that 70 galleons, 30 sickles and 5 knuts is what we can offer you.”

Alice narrowed her eyes at the goblin for several seconds before nodding, holding her hand out for the bag. “And about opening the account?” The goblin raised a brow at Alice and Harry.  “Would it be under your name Miss Fisher?”  Alice sighed as she looked at Harry. “Yah, sure, put it under my name and take…” She continued to look at Harry, as if deciding his worth. “Take 150 galleons out of my vault and put them in his vault to get him started properly. Can we also get him a key? A proper key?” She asked a brow raised.

The goblin looked down at Harry before nodding. “Of course Miss Fisher.” After a several minutes of a scribbling and the thud of a stamp, Harry and Alice were standing back outside of the bank. Harry looked at the key in his hand, Alice had explained to him the way it worked and the value of coins. He was still confused by it all, but if it meant he could buy things, he was willing to try and learn.

Harry was pulled out of his thoughts by the clearing of a throat. “So the Weasley’s eh? Some lot they are?” Harry looked down at Eliot, who had an amused look on his face. Harry tugged at his own red hair as he tucked his new key away. He scowled when he heard both Alice and Eliot laugh at him. “Make you ashamed to be a red head huh? If you want we can completely dye your hair a different color.”  Eliot made his way up the few steps and pulled Harry into his side, pulled of his beanie and ruffled Harry’s hair. “You’d look right proper with green hair or maybe a nice blue.” Eliot ruffled Harry’s hair once more before stepping away, tucking Harry’s beanie into a pocket.

“HEY! Gimme that back.” Harry shouted as he followed Eliot and Alice down the steps, attempting to flatten his hair and hide his scar. “Nah, I like seeing your scar.” Eliot turned to walk backwards as he winked at Harry, pulling another cigarette out, handing one to Alice. “What you didn’t think we’d notice? That the Weasley’s would be able to just disguise their youngest kid as the famous boy who lived for a short period of time.” He rolled his eyes as he took a drag from his cigarette before handing Harry his hat back. “We’ve known for a while now, I think since Alice found your Hogwarts letters. But what really gave it away was the day you fell asleep upside down on Janet’s couch. Jan just thought it was a really neat scar. Alice and I knew right away what it was.” Eliot shrugged a little once more. "It also became clear when rumors of the famous boy who lived stopped showing up to Hogwarts and your letters started back up this summer." 

Harry glared at him from behind before pushing his way to the front. “I don’ even know how I got it.” He stood on his tippy toes and snatched the cigarette from Eliot’s hand, inhaling deeply. “I only know that the Potter name is famous cause of Alice.” He turned his glance to Alice and glared. “If you guys would like ta tell me, that be great ya?” He turned back and started to head to the first store that caught his attention.  “Are you sure you want to know Harry?” Alice questioned as she followed him, slowly steering him in a different direction.  At his nod, both her and Eliot sighed. “Fine, we’ll tell you what we can, but I think after shopping we should visit Lu, he’d be better equipped to tell you.”

Harry looked up at the two and narrowed his eyes. “Promise?”

Alice held out her pinky finger and smiled. “Pinky promise.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I want to ask you guys, since Harry clearly isn't going to be attending Hogwarts, would you like to see him attend another of the schools, like Beauxbatons or Durmstrang, or would you like him to eventually go to Hogwarts? Also should I have the Malfoy’s creature inheritance be the cliché veela or something else? Let me know in the comments yah. 
> 
> Also for references: ( https://qph.fs.quoracdn.net/main-qimg-e9ccf201dcb351471cffa7776ebe7994 ) this is Harry's scar, but it doesn't come from the middle of his forehead, it comes more from the right side of his head, and goes down to almost his eyebrows. 
> 
> And this is what I imagine harry with red hair looks like: https://pics.me.me/mxlfoydraco-a-concept-harry-potter-with-his-mothers-hair-and-5944497.png

**Author's Note:**

> Hello, reading this means you made it through this chapter.  
> I'm sorry to say the next one may be a while. *sad face* I know. But I am working on it, pouring my heart and soul into it.  
> I'm just at college right now and working, so I'm doing my best. I do hope you enjoyed this chapter.  
> I will try not to keep you all waiting for too long.  
> I promise.  
> Excellent now know kudos and comments are truly appreciated.


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